The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 90, July 1986 - April, 1987 Page: 10
492 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
While the tories in San Felipe had interests in land and position and
supported the empresario's traditional policy of neutrality in the on-
going civil war, the conservatives on the lower Trinity, in the area that
became Chambers County, tended to differ slightly. A few, like John A.
Williams, who was a longtime resident and who exercised a moderate
amount of political power as alcalde, resembled the San Felipe conser-
vatives. The others, however, were largely apolitical. Many had roots in
southern and western Louisiana, where their fathers had settled as early
as the 178os, coming from Natchez and the Carolinas. Some may have
been related to former British loyalists or, at least, to those who had
favored neither side during the American Revolution. When Louisiana
became a part of the United States in 1803, some of these families be-
gan moving west to the Calcasieu River, the border of the Neutral
Ground, which stretched west to the Sabine River."1 The sanctuary had
been created in 1806 in an attempt to prevent bloodshed between the
forces of the United States and Spain, but it became a haven for those
engaged in illicit trade in Spanish Texas. Seemingly, these men felt no
particular loyalty to the United States and had little interest in politics.
These families supported themselves by hunting, trading, and cattle
raising. By 1822 they had begun moving to the Trinity River, where
they squatted on homesteads until 1831, when a Mexican land commis-
sioner finally issued titles. Heads of families received one league of
grazing land upon payment of modest fees to the surveyor, the com-
missioner, and for writing the deed, just as in Austin's colony. Living
outside of Austin's jurisdiction, they looked to Nacogdoches for depart-
mental guidance. In 1831, however, the federalist state-appointed land
commissioner organized an ayuntamiento at Liberty in defiance of the
centralist administration, which expected Bradburn to maintain sole
governance of the area at Anahuac. In general, Bradburn was sup-
ported by those residents who did business with the fort, such as James
Taylor White, who supplied cattle; Dr. Nicholas D. Labadie, the phar-
macist and surgeon; and merchants who had flocked to the military
town in 1831.'
'4Webb, Carroll, and Branda (eds.), Handbook of Texas, II, 913 (for J. A. Williams); Margaret
Swett Henson, "History of Chambers County," manuscript of book in progress, based in part
on genealogical files of pioneer families in Chambers County at Wallisville Heritage Park.
Those living on the Calcasieu River before 1819 are listed in American States Papers ... , Class
VIII: The Public Lands (8 vols.; Washington, D.C., 1790-1837), IV, 72-73; Gifford White, James
Taylor White of Virginia (Austin, 1982), 3, 5, 18-21, 66, 71, 81, 86.
1 Mary McMillan Osburn, "The Atascosita Census of 1826," Texana, I (Fall, 1963), 305-321;
Henson, Bradburn, 55-56, 58-67.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 90, July 1986 - April, 1987, periodical, 1986/1987; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117152/m1/36/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.